The Living Tradition - A brief history of the
Melbourne Town Hall organs and organists
from 1869 to 1995

by Thomas Heywood

From the late 1790s there was immense interest in Europe about the new continent of Australia. Although the British had made the first permanent settlement in Australia in 1788 at the site of modern day Sydney on the east coast, by the early 1800s the French had sent ships to explore the south coast. In 1803 the British sent an expedition to establish a colony at Sorrento on Port Phillip Bay on the south coast, undoubtedly wishing to forestall a French settlement! Owing chiefly to difficulties in procuring fresh water, the first settlers left after less than a year and sailed further south where they established a settlement in Tasmania at the site of modern day Hobart.

It was in 1835 that the first permanent settlement was made at the present site of Melbourne. The settlement was founded chiefly by Tasmanian entrepreneurs John Batman and John Pascoe Fawkner who had come to search for land they had been unable to obtain in Tasmania. After several hundred settlers had moved in, various names for the new settlement were proposed including 'Batmania', 'Beargrass' and 'Glenelg'. The settlement's enterprising spirit soon led to problems with the British powers in Sydney over such issues as a refusal to accept the transportation of convicts to the new settlement, and a need was soon felt to form an independent colony. In order to help their cause, the settlers proposed to name their colony 'Victoria' after the reigning English monarch Queen Victoria and the main town 'Melbourne' in honour of Lord Melbourne, Queen Victoria's most dedicated Prime Minister.

In 1837 the town was officially granted a seal of approval and in 1851 the colony of Victoria was formed and formally separated from New South Wales. Gold was almost immediately discovered in the new colony and the small town of Melbourne became the centre for Australia's largest gold rush and one of the longest and most significant gold rushes in history. This heralded an extended period of immense prosperity which saw Melbourne become one of the largest and most gracious cities in the world earning the nickname 'Marvellous Melbourne' only a few years after the Governor had stated that he would rather be hanged in England than die a free man in Victoria!

Over 150 years later, the City of Melbourne remains the food, fashion and cultural capital of Australia and it is still renowned for its outstanding collection of Victorian-era buildings, splendid public and private gardens, well-planned roads and spacious suburbs ­ all of which combine to make Melbourne the world's most liveable city.

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